I am the President and Founder of Gender Wellness of Los Angeles and have been a licensed marriage and family therapist for over 31 years, counseling children and adults who are exploring gender identity and/or sexual orientation issues. In addition to working one-on-one with my clients, I may work with their support systems, including their partner, spouse, parents, employer or friends.

I am an active member of WPATH (World Professional Association of Transgender Health), CAMFT (California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists), and AAMFT (American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists).

Through the years, my interactions with clients — along with my own life experience — have shown me that the reason why many of us do not pursue what we want is often due to feeling unworthy. Yet, we all share a desire of fitting in and being accepted by our peers, or society at-large. Thus, it becomes critical that we address our self-acceptance first. Healing the practice of self-recriminations and self-judgments is of highest priority. When we learn to accept ourselves, it becomes an easier journey to ask others to accept us in return. Oftentimes, our own self-judgments hold us back from living a full and authentic life.

We all long to be loved, but the love must come from within, too — that is where the journey begins. There is nothing inherently wrong with being true to ourselves and expressing ourselves fully as who we really are and not what others think we should be.

It is important for me to create a safe and nurturing environment as I help my clients on their journey to live fully in self-discovery. Together, we work to uncover negative beliefs they have about themselves. I encourage them to embrace all of their self and release self-judgment, so that their pathway opens for them to make more self-honoring choices, realizing their own possibilities.

In addition to my therapy practice, I am excited to now be able to offer EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) to my clients. EMDR is a powerful psychotherapy technique that was developed by Francine Shapiro, PhD. The technique used in EMDR have been extremely successful in helping people who suffer from trauma, anxiety, panic, disturbing memories, post-traumatic stress and other emotional conditions. It is truly a breakthrough therapy because of its simplicity and the fact that it can bring quick and lasting relief in such a short amount of time.

I am also trained and certified in mediation and conflict resolution. In this forum, I work with both parties to help them reach an agreement. Mediation is voluntary, and each person must be willing to discuss their differences openly. This can be a much more effective, less costly way to deal with a divorce or going straight to attorneys.

**Please take advantage of a FREE, 15-minute phone consultation with me to see if working with GWLA might be a fit for you. This can be done via phone or video conferencing. Use the contact form on this page to do so.

— Casey Weitzman, MA, LMFT